Novelist Philippa Gregory and the cast of the Starz series discuss the influence of its female characters

Girl power isn't confined to just our modern times: Starz's "The White Queen" takes the events of the 15th Century Wars of the Roses and focuses on the women who were instrumental in the drawn-out conflict for the English throne.

In a new featurette, Phillippa Gregory, whose "The Cousins' War" novels serve as the series basis, and the cast discuss the influence its female characters wielded at the time.

"One of the themes of the series is about women really conquering the instances they're born into and making a life for themselves," Gregory said in TheWrap's exclusive premiere of the featurette, "Women in a Man's World."

"The White Queen" follows three women — Elizabeth Woodville (Rebecca Ferguson), Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale) and Anne Neville (Faye Marsay) — affected by forces out of their control who learn that in their families' quest for the throne, they can become significant players.

"The traditional history shows you women who are simply victims or someone's wife or mother and my novels tell the story of these extraordinary women who were as active and influential in this period as the men," Gregory continued.

Find out what else Gregory and The White Queen's cast had to say about the series' female characters in the video below.

Need to catch up on "The White Queen"? Starz will be airing the first three episodes of the series back-to-back on Saturday starting at 9/8c. The fourth episode premieres the following Saturday, Sept. 7 at 9/8c.